Philip Bates, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Oil produced in the seeds of plants is the most energy-dense form of biological carbon storage and supplies humans with much of the calories and essential fatty acids required in our diet. Plant oils also represent a renewable carbon source that can replace petroleum in many applications, including biofuels and as feedstocks for the chemical industry, such as for the production of polymers, lubricants and resins. However, not all plant oils are alike and the usefulness of each for food, fuel or the chemical industry depends on the composition of the fatty acids within the oil. The laboratory of Dr. Bates utilizes biochemical, genetic and molecular biology approaches to understand the metabolic pathways that allow different plants to produce oils with unique fatty acid compositions, and how we can engineer plants to produce designer oils to meet our nutritional or industrial needs of the future.